York teen in Kyrgyzstan enjoys Southern hospitality

Sunday

Mar 30, 2008 at 11:00 AM

Editor's note: Alyson Sweet, 18, of York, Maine, is spending the 2007-2008 academic year in Kyrgyzstan through the Rotary International Youth Exchange. She will be writing about her experience the last Sunday of every month for Seacoast Sunday. You can reach her via features@seacoastonline.com.

Alyson Sweet

Editor's note: Alyson Sweet, 18, of York, Maine, is spending the 2007-2008 academic year in Kyrgyzstan through the Rotary International Youth Exchange. She will be writing about her experience the last Sunday of every month for Seacoast Sunday. You can reach her via features@seacoastonline.com.

More than 2,000 years ago, around year 130 BC, Osh, Kyrgyzstan, in the Furghana Valley, was a crucial trading point on the Silk Road. Centuries later, the city has shifted into something somewhat less metropolitan, while managing to maintain its feeling of culture and history, and thus causing it to remain a significant part of modern day Central Asia.

The differences between the Bishkek, the country's capital, and Osh (often referred to as the capital of the South) were immediately apparent upon arrival. Having spent the past seven months primarily in the center of Bishkek, it has become my second home, and I am well acquainted with the feeling of the city in general. I have always been taken by the mixture of modern and traditional, urban and rural, even Russian and Asian, that comprises the city of about 1 million.

In Osh, the feeling was more traditional as a whole. Located roughly 30 miles from the border of Uzbekistan, it draws much influence from its equally small, yet culturally rich neighbor. A great portion of the city's population is Uzbek, and as a result, it has become a charming fusion of cultures. Joined by my sisters — visiting from America for a week — I was finally able to get a taste of this part of the country that I had been hearing about since my first day in Kyrgyzstan.

Sulayman Mountain, standing tall in the center of the relatively flat city of Osh, makes for an incredible sight from all corners of the city. From the top of mountain, the view is flipped, and the entire surrounding city is visible. The view isn't particularly impressive due to any architectural wonders in the city or exceptional sights, but the pure fact that a metropolis was built around the mountain was enough to capture anyone's attention.

Stepping foot into the city's massive bazaar — the largest of its kind in Central Asia — will instantly catapult a person into a different frame of mind. One could easily spend hours walking through the amazing marketplace without running out of new things to see and buy. From traditional hats, blankets, and robes, to fresh produce, to the latest pop and hip-hop CDs, the bazaar offers anything and everything that both tourists and locals could hope to buy on any given day — all of which can be bargained down from their already cheap prices.

One section is devoted to traditional loaves of round, flat bread called lepioshka. Having heard that Uzbeks make the best bread in the area, I could hardly wait to find out for myself. A massive corner of the bazaar adorned in these beautiful handmade, golden brown discs made for a grand entrance into the meat and produce section. Rows of fruits and vegetables faded into dried fruits and nuts from the neighboring nut forest, Arslanbob. Faces perked up at the sight of foreigners. We were showered with questions and offers to test the best figs and walnuts in hopes that we wouldn't be able to resist spending our money. The pleasant lines of fruit and nuts faded into rows of butchers hanging meat from hooks.

Spooked by hanging horse and cow heads, we entered into a section of the bazaar selling fresh flowers. The contrast was startling and remarkable. On the other side, we found ourselves dodging a group of teenage boys playing ball. First, considering it an interesting photo-op, we stopped to capture the game on film. With the bazaar as a backdrop, the entire situation showed the relative simplicity of life in the small Central Asian city.

Asking if I could join the game, I was immediately welcomed into the circle as a mixture of volleyball and soccer began. From her nearby post selling carrots and potatoes, a hefty, middle-aged Uzbek woman ran over to join the game as well. At this point, most of the vendors in the area stopped to watch the game, cheering, laughing, and enjoying the energy.

The overall feeling in the bazaar seemed friendlier than what you would find in Bishkek. Rather than being pushed out of the way or run into by carts of cow legs, the vendors in Osh's bazaar started up conversations, interested in finding out about where we were from and what we thought of their city. Smiles were exchanged and friendly waves followed as we continued on our way.

We arrived back into Bishkek just in time to celebrate Nooruz, the newly established Kyrgyz-Muslim New Year. The center of the Bishkek was buzzing with excitement as a concert of traditional Central Asian song and dance took place in the strangely empty square. As we were oddly directed around the vacant square by what seemed like the country's entire force of policemen, we passed stands set up by vendors along the sidewalk, selling and other traditional dishes. In the road, blocked off from traffic, men were playing a traditional game, Ordo, by rolling the vertebra of sheep to try to knock down the bones that stood in the center of a giant chalk-drawn circle.

With the first holiday ending, there was only a short break in the celebration, and after two, another young holiday kept the population of Bishkek home from work and school — this time to remember the Tulip Revolution of 2005 in which President Askar Akayev was overthrown. As the celebrations are ending, another month here in Kyrgyzstan is coming to a close. Traveling to the south of the city has given me a taste for even more of the interesting culture in the part of the world, and shown me the diversity that even such a small country can contain.

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